Azerbaijan has increased its gas production by 13.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022, the State Oil Company (SOCAR) has reported.

The national oil and gas output totaled 8.3 million tons and 11.8 billion cubic meters, respectively.

During the reported period, SOCAR produced more than 1.9 million tons of oil and 1.9 billion cubic meters of gas. Oil and gas production increased gradually compared to the previous year.

Moreover, the company exported nearly 4.1 million tons of crude oil to the world market.

SOCAR also exported 770 million cubic meters of natural gas to Georgia, which is an increase by 50.6 percent compared to the same period last year.

"SOCAR exports both the crude oil produced by own means and the shares of SOCAR and Azerbaijan in the international consortia's oil production," the company noted.

In total, about 6.7 million tons of oil and 5.9 billion cubic meters of gas were exported from the country. A 14.7-percent growth was recorded in the country’s gas exports compared to the same period last year.

Furthermore, about 1.6 million tons of oil and 948 million cubic meters of natural gas were processed by the company's refining complex in Azerbaijan. Oil refining increased by 9.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

In January-March, about 561,000 tons of oil, petro- and gas- chemicals produced by SOCAR's enterprises in Azerbaijan were exported abroad.

Natural gas consumption in the country increased by 9.3 percent and amounted to about 4.8 billion cubic meters. A sharp increase in output of carbamide and methanol plants, as well as domestic gas supplies’ growth to 96.3 percent, led to the increase in gas consumption in the country.

Additionally, in the first quarter of 2022, SOCAR improved its drilling performance by conducting over 18,000 meters of drilling work, which is by 2.7 times more than a year before.

In 2021, SOCAR increased oil and gas production by 6.5 and 7 percent, respectively, on fields operated by the company on its own or as a major shareholder. SOCAR's oil and gas production totaled 7.9 million tons and 7.9 billion cubic meters, respectively, AzerNews reports.